The present invention relates generally to inkjet printing mechanisms, and more particularly to a ferro-fluidic inkjet printhead sealing and spitting system for maintaining inkjet printhead health.
Inkjet printing mechanisms use pens which shoot drops of liquid colorant, referred to generally herein as xe2x80x9cink,xe2x80x9d onto a page. Each pen has a printhead formed with very small nozzles through which the ink drops are fired. To print an image, the printhead is propelled back and forth across the page, shooting drops of ink in a desired pattern as it moves. The particular ink ejection mechanism within the printhead may take on a variety of different forms known to those skilled in the art, such as those using piezo-electric or thermal printhead technology. For instance, two earlier thermal ink ejection mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,278,584 and 4,683,481, both assigned to the present assignee, Hewlett-Packard Company. In a thermal system, a barrier layer containing ink channels and vaporization chambers is located between a nozzle orifice plate and a substrate layer. This substrate layer typically contains linear arrays of heater elements, such as resistors, which are energized to heat ink within the vaporization chambers. Upon heating, an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle associated with the energized resistor. By selectively energizing the resistors as the printhead moves across the page, the ink is expelled in a pattern on the print media to form a desired image (e.g., picture, chart or text).
To clean and protect the printhead, typically a xe2x80x9cservice stationxe2x80x9d mechanism is mounted within the printer chassis so the printhead can be moved over the station for maintenance. For storage, or during non-printing periods, the service stations usually include an elastomeric capping system which hermetically seals the printhead nozzles from contaminants and drying. To facilitate priming, some printers have elastomeric priming caps that are connected to a pumping unit to draw a vacuum on the printhead. During operation, partial occlusions or clogs in the printhead are periodically cleared by firing a number of drops of ink through each of the nozzles in a clearing or purging process known as xe2x80x9cspitting.xe2x80x9d The waste ink is collected at a spitting reservoir portion of the service station, known as a xe2x80x9cspittoon.xe2x80x9d After spitting, uncapping, or occasionally during printing, most service stations have a flexible elastomeric wiper that wipes the printhead surface to remove ink residue, as well as any paper dust or other debris that has collected on the printhead.
To improve the clarity and contrast of the printed image, recent research has focused on improving the ink itself. To provide quicker, more waterfast printing with darker blacks and more vivid colors, pigment based inks have been developed. These pigment based inks have a higher solids content than the earlier dye-based inks, which results in a higher optical density for the new inks. Both types of ink dry quickly, which allows inkjet printing mechanisms to use plain paper. Unfortunately, the combination of small nozzles and quick-drying ink leaves the printheads susceptible to clogging, not only from dried ink and minute dust particles or paper fibers, but also from the solids within the new inks themselves. Partially or completely blocked nozzles can lead to either missing or misdirected drops on the print media, either of which degrades the print quality. Thus, spitting to clear the nozzles becomes even more important when using pigment-based inks, because the higher solids content contributes to the clogging problem more than earlier dye-based inks.
Challenges were also faced in finding suitable capping strategies for the new pigment based inks, while also adequately capping the multi-color dye based printhead. Capping hermetically seals the area around the printhead nozzles to prevent drying or decomposition of the ink during periods of printer inactivity. The Hewlett-Packard Company""s DeskJet(copyright)850C color inkjet printer employed a elastomeric, multi-ridged capping system to seal the pigment based black pen. A spring-biased sled supported both the black and color caps, and gently engaged the printheads to avoid depriming them. A vent system was required including an elastomeric vent plug and a labyrinth vent path under the sled to avoid inadvertent over pressurizations or under pressurizations, like barometric changes in the ambient pressure or from volume changes during the capping process.
Thus, it would be desirable to find new ways of sealing an inkjet printhead, beyond mere modifications of the conventional elastomeric caps, and new ways of dealing with ink spit from printheads, beyond the conventional spittoons, along with new ways of sealing an inkjet printhead prior to installation in an inkjet printing mechanism.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a ferro-fluidic capping system is provided for sealing nozzles of an inkjet printhead, with the nozzles ejecting ink having either polar properties or non-polar properties. The ferro-fluidic capping system includes a support structure engageable with the printhead, and a magnetic element supported by the support structure. A ferro-fluidic fluid overlays the magnetic element to seal against the printhead nozzles when the support structure is engaged with the printhead. The ferro-fluidic fluid is selected to have polar properties when the ink has non-polar properties, and to have non-polar properties when the ink has polar properties.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a fluidic capping system is provided for sealing ink-ejecting nozzles of an inkjet printhead. The fluidic capping system includes a support structure engageable with the printhead. A fluid is supported by the support structure to seal against the printhead nozzles when the support structure is engaged with the printhead. This fluid is selected to expel ink residue ejected thereon from the printhead.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method of sealing an inkjet printhead during periods of inactivity is provided, with nozzles ejecting ink having either polar properties or non-polar properties. The method includes the step of covering the nozzles with a ferro-fluidic fluid selected to have polar properties when the ink has non-polar properties, and to have non-polar properties when the ink has polar properties. In a magnetically biasing step, the ferro-fluidic fluid is magnetically biased during the covering step.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention, a method of handling ink spit from an inkjet printhead is provided, with the ink having either polar properties or non-polar properties. The method includes the step of providing a spit target located to receive ink spit from the printhead. The spit target has a surface of a ferro-fluidic fluid selected to have polar properties when the ink has non-polar properties, and to have non-polar properties when the ink has polar properties. The method includes the steps of spitting ink from the printhead onto the surface of the ferro-fluidic fluid, and magnetically biasing the ferro-fluidic fluid during the spitting step.
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, an inkjet printing mechanism is provided as including a frame, and a support structure supported by the frame. The printing mechanism has an inkjet printhead with nozzles which eject ink having either polar properties or non-polar properties. The printing mechanism has magnetic element supported by the support structure. A ferro-fluidic fluid overlays the magnetic element. The ferro-fluidic fluid is selected to have polar properties when the ink has non-polar properties, and to have non-polar properties when the ink has polar properties.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, an inkjet cartridge is provided for installation in an inkjet printing mechanism. The cartridge includes a reservoir, and ink contained in the reservoir, with the ink having either polar properties or non-polar properties. The cartridge has a printhead with nozzles for ejecting the ink from the reservoir. The cartridge also has a removable ferro-fluidic sealing assembly sealing the nozzles. The ferro-fluidic sealing assembly includes a support structure removably engageable with the printhead, and a magnetic element supported by the support structure. A ferro-fluidic fluid overlays the magnetic element and seals the nozzles when the support structure is engaged with the printhead. The ferro-fluidic fluid is selected to have polar properties when the ink has non-polar properties, and to have non-polar properties when the ink has polar properties.
An overall goal of the present invention is to provide a printhead service station for an inkjet printing mechanism that facilitates printing of sharp vivid images, particularly when using fast drying pigment based inks, co-precipitating inks, dye based inks, or ultra-fast drying inks, by providing fast and efficient printhead servicing.
Another goal of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printhead sealing system for use before installation in an inkjet printing mechanism.
An additional goal of the present invention is to provide a service station with a new capping system which is more economical, provides better sealing than the earlier elastomeric caps, and in one variation, may be used during shipment before an inkjet cartridge is installed in a printing mechanism.
A further goal of the present invention is to provide a service station with a new capping system which allows wider material and component tolerances to be used in the printing mechanism, while allowing the pens to be situated closer together for a more compact printing unit without suffering cross contamination between adjacent colors.
A goal of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printhead capping system which also facilitates printhead spitting, eliminating the earlier costly separate spittoons.
A further goal of the present invention is to provide a method of servicing an inkjet printhead that is expediently accomplished in an efficient manner to preserve printhead health and provide consumers with a reliable, robust printing unit that consistently prints high quality images.